Final answer:
Significant strength gains typically require high intensity training, as this leads to greater muscle adaptation and strength. Progressive overload by increasing exercise intensity is crucial for muscle growth, and individual genetic differences impact how one responds to training. Fast-twitch muscle fibers in particular benefit more from high intensity workouts.
Step-by-step explanation:
When it comes to making strength gains, both low intensity and high intensity workouts can be beneficial, but they serve different purposes and lead to different outcomes. For significant increases in muscle strength, high intensity training is often more effective than low intensity. This is because high intensity training involves lifting heavier weights or exerting more force, which challenges the muscles to a greater extent and leads to greater adaptation and strength gains over time.
According to the principle of progressive overload, continually increasing the intensity of the exercise is critical for muscle growth and strength. This means that as an individual gets stronger, they should be increasing the weights or resistance to keep challenging their muscles, leading to continuous improvement.
It's also important to note that individual responses to different training intensities can vary. People with more fast-twitch muscle fibers tend to respond better to high intensity, strength-based workouts as these fibers are more suited to power and strength activities and have greater potential for growth. Individual capacities for muscle building due to genetic variability can also play a significant role.
Finally, Physical Activity Intensity and Fuel Use dictates that during high-intensity activities, our muscles rely on both anaerobic and aerobic metabolism to meet the body's demands for ATP, the energy currency of the cell, which implicitly suggests the necessity for increased intensity for greater muscle demand and growth.